Foundations of Youth Ministry

Unit Overview 
Join us for this extensive unit of study with Graham Stanton, the previous Principal of Youthworks College. Graham is keen to help students develop skills for engaging theologically with contemporary culture.

The dates for when this unit is offered varies. Please visit the timetable by clicking here for the most up to date information.

Unit Details

Workload	Six-day extensive, 12 Credit Points, 39 Contact Hours
Status	Elective
Subject code	DM010-512 DM010-712
Who	Graham Stanton

Learning Outcomes

(a) To introduce the candidate to the Bible’s teaching on young people;
(b) To help the candidate begin to articulate a theology of ministry with young people and to some models of ministry with them;
(c) To outline major aspects of youth culture in Australia;
(d) To provide an opportunity for the candidate to undertake supervised practical work.

Unit Content

Section A: Biblical, Theological, Historical and Strategic Foundations for Youth Ministry with an Introduction to Youth in Society.

• The Bible’s teaching on youth and young people.
• Developing a theology of youth ministry. Biblical authority in a postmodern world. Relational theology. Incarnation and reconciliation.
• Historical overview of Christian youth ministry in Australia, especially since World War 2.
• An examination and development of strategic models of youth ministry; motivation; goals; content; methodologies.

Section B: Youth Today

• A survey of the place and understanding of youth in western society.
• Major aspects of youth cultures in Australia, in thelight of secularisation. The changing nature of youth subcultures.
• The beliefs and values of significant youth subcultures, including varieties of household types, ethnicity, rural or urban contexts; students, workers and the unemployed. The contexts where young people gather.

Bibliography

• Butcher, T. (ed.), Emerging Youth Cultures Urban Australia (Melbourne: Pluto, 2003).
• Dean, K., C. Clark and D. Rahn, Starting Right:Thinking Theologically about Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids: Youth Specialties; Zondervan,2001).
• Fields, D., Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002).
• Heflin, H., Youth Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Youth Ministry (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2009).
• Higgs, M., Youth Ministries from the Inside Out (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2004).
• Jones, T., Postmodern Youth Ministry (Grand Rapids:Youth Specialities; Zondervan, 2001).
• Mason, M. C., A. Singleton and R. Webber, The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People’s Spirituality in a Changing Australia (Mulgrave, Vic: John Garratt Publishing, 2007).
• Muggleton, D. and R. Weinzerl,The Post-Subcultures Reader (Oxford: Berg, 2004).
• Nilan, P. M., R. Julian and J. Germov, Australian Youth: Social and Cultural Issues (Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Education Australia, 2007).
• Senter, B., Clark and Nel, Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church (Grand Rapids: Youth Specialities;Zondervan).
• Strommen, M. P., K. Jones and D. Rahn, Youth Ministry That Transforms (Zondervan/Youth Specialties,2001).
• Yaconelli, M., The Core Realities of Youth Ministry: Nine Biblical Principles that Mark Healthy Youth Ministries (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003)